Beacon 23

Greetings from the other side. I managed to get through all 8 episodes of season one, proving my superior will power.

After 8 episodes we still know nothing about the rocks (artifacts). They tease you hear and there, and even whisper the secret from one person to another, but they won't tell us.

Seriously, if all you have is one secret, how can you stretch that out into an entire season? You can't, not successfully anyways. Yet now they have a second season? Wow. Count me out.

They have some decent actors but man is it slow moving. They even have a couple prequel episodes so we can learn about previous beacon keepers, and they tell us nothing as well.

I cannot recommend this show.

I was hoping for a good new sci fi series but its pretty awkward and the effects are really off-putting. This is a long way off from Silo, another Hugh Howey based show. I have never read that book but so far I don't care about anything going on and it just sounds like sci fi nonsense from people who don't know anything about sci fi. I turned off the second episode during a terrible zero gravity fight scene, that was all I could take. Anyway I don't think I'll give it another go, the visuals are a big problem for me, it just looks like a bad Syfy channel show that will be cancelled soon. I'm happy Silo exists but it's too bad we can't get more decent space sci fi.

I don't get the bad reviews. This show has a great story that unfolds a bit more every episode. The acting is very well done and the two leads are excellent. The dialogue is sometimes simplistic in that it's there to move the story, not hit you in the feels or expand your mind but it's there to give you information so that things that have or will happen make some sort of sense. Don't get me wrong, there is plenty of great dialogue, it's just used where it's needed, not to add flourishes to something that doesn't require it.

The script that everyone is dunking on manages to make you feel the vast space of the universe they're building. From the disparate types of people, languages and motivations to the thoroughly believable advanced tech.

Visually, they've done a great job. When appropriate, the CGI is well done and not overly flashy. Just solid and believable. Overall production design, sets and wardrobe are all great as well. Nothing about the show feels cheap or skimped over.

I feel like people are just mad because the writers aren't handing you scenes that show whether a person is good or bad. There's a lot of ambiguity going on but the show manages, if you give it a chance, to answer many of the questions that arise. That said, I also feel like the show has a lot more to say about a lot of things. Things like where AI is leading us and how we might interact with it. Whether some knowledge or "progress" is too expensive or dangerous. If humanity forcibly evolves itself are they still human? And of course, what's going on with the weird rocks?

They've obviously left room for more answers in a (thankfully) renewed second season and I look forward to more thought provoking, enjoyable and sometimes beautiful episodes.

If you're looking for non-stop action or nail biting suspense, this ain't it. If you're looking for good, solid, moderately hard sci-fi with some decent but infrequent action sequences and a bit of philosophy thrown in, this might just work for you.

I've watched both seasons of Beacon 23. The first season was reasonably decent.... I would give it a 7. Not great, but decent.... I was looking forward to season 2 since there were so many unanswered questions in season 1.... But all I can say is.... WHAT???

No episode from season 2 seemed to go together. Nothing seemed to make sense...even when you get to the last show in S2, you really don't know what is going on. It's almost like the core of the story was lost, and never seemed to get back on track. I've watched a LOT of sci-fi and season 2 is a hot mess.

I'm not sure based on what I saw on S2 there is enough understanding of what has happened to make me come back for a Season 3...and that is a shame since Season 1 showed promise.

I'm writing this review after having watched the entire first season, and just finished watching the 6th out of 8 episodes in the second season. The only thing I can say is: the show Writers must really HATE the viewers. And, I'm surprised anyone would put his name on the script: I believe the Writers' Guild uses "Alan B. Smithee" for writing credits that the writer wants to disavow. "Smithee" name should be all over S2 scripts.

There is no other explanation for a show so full of half-starts, unresolved episodes, and unfulfilled promises. It's like an anthology series with episodes that don't give the viewer an ending for each episode.

I understand that the writers, in online interviews, have asked the viewers to "hold on" and wait for the payoff--but, with just two episodes left in S2, I can't imagine any satisfying way to tie together the various threads that have been floated throughout this season.

I began watching this series based on the pedigree of Hugh Howey, who provided the source material--and who wrote the very excellent books the "Silo" series is based on.

But "Beacon 23" is no "Silo." I have to agree with other reviews that point out that Stephan James is not the Leading Man this series needs. In fact, I'm not sure if anyone could rise above and save such poor plotting and writing.

That said, there are some flashes of interesting performances--like Ellen Wong in the recent two-parter; but I have no idea if we'll see her character, "Iris" again. Which is emblematic of the show itself: it's like the actors/characters are running away from an unfulfilling experience. The disappearance of Lena Headey in S2 is also a slap in the face, since many viewers (me included) decided to watch "Beacon 23" because we expected to see her always watchable acting; and see what new character she would bring to life. But, it appears Ms. Headey has taken the money, and run.

I'll hang-on for the final two episodes, but it's very doubtful that I'll return for more punishment in the future. Assuming MGM+ decides the series gets a third time at bat.

UPDATE: I have now watched the final two episodes, and as I expected they are terrible. Unsatisfying on both an intellectual and emotional level.

The individual character storylines mostly went unresolved, and the overall thematic narrative, of the artifact, is just as mysterious as in the first episode of the first season.

Why did we spend 16 episodes watching this mess? I don't know...but I will NOT be watching any more; assuming someone is foolish enough to greenlight a third season of...The Worst Sci-Fi Series in the past 50 years!